


Ashes

by Thoscheifangirl1234



Category: Hetalia - Fandom
Genre: Aph Gutters, Gutters au, More characters and pairings to come, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-12-12 03:05:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11728188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thoscheifangirl1234/pseuds/Thoscheifangirl1234
Summary: How can one human help a group of grieving nations?Gutters AU (mostly post Gutters) focused mainly on Ida, the Danish girl who Mathias met while on his journey to SwedenDisclaimer: this is only an AU of Gutters. The original fic was written by the amazing Glassamilk on fanfiction.net





	Ashes

Bang. bang. bang. bang.  
Conversation in the bunker halted, eyes turned toward the sealed entrance.  
Bang. bang. bang. bang.  
There were voices outside, someone pleading to be let in. Ida almost took pity on him. Almost. But anyone outside of the bunkers were either dead or out for blood. No one was willing to take this mysterious man in.  
Bang. bang. bang. bang.  
When no one in the bunker responded to his banging, the voice let out an angry stream of curses and insults. Ida froze when she heard the words, for they weren’t in German. They were in Danish. Danish. That meant this newcomer was most likely from Denmark. Her homeland. A land that had probably been wiped off the map because of the Calamity. She hadn’t seen or heard from any of her fellow Danes other than her family in months. If there was any chance her people could still be alive, she had to find out. 

Cautiously, she made her way toward the door of the bunker, ignoring the outraged and fearful protests of the other refugees. She pushed the door open just a crack, just enough to peek through. There were three men and a teenage boy, all in terrible shape. One of them was scowling, his long black coat covered in dirt, a respirator covering most of his face. He was holding the teenager’s hand, the smaller boy looking exhausted but determined. Beside them stood another, tall and blonde, cheerful despite the scenery around him. The fourth was draped over the enthusiastic one’s shoulders, so still Ida wasn’t even sure if he was alive.   
A grin spread across the cheerful man’s face and he made his way toward her. “Hey, you opened it! Hi! We’re-”  
“Stop! Go back to where you were!” she shouted back at him, trying to sound braver than she actually was. Judging by the man’s voice he was American. Though it made no sense to her why an American would be in Europe. Rumor was that the West was already rebuilding, as it hadn’t been hit as severely as Europe. 

She turned to the traveler with the respirator. “You. Were you the one talking?” she asked, and he nodded silently, looking almost shocked to see her. “Put down your gun and come here,” she ordered.  
The man with the respirator began walking toward her, but was stopped by the other loud blonde who gripped his arm and hissed out something she couldn't quite hear. The first one muttered something back at him, and the two exchanged a few heated words before the he was finally set free.   
The man walked up to her, and Ida took a deep breath before stepping fully outside, still guarding the entrance to the bunker with her body. Her long blonde hair was done in two loose braids, her tattered sundress blowing in the harsh wind.   
“Earlier, after you were banging on the door, you said something. What did you say?” she asked, staring him down.  
"I said you were all a bunch of unhelpful assholes,” he grumbled . "Maybe a few other things," he added, his voice heavily accented, but slightly muffled by the respirator.   
“But you didn't say it like that. You said it differently. In another language,” she accused, narrowing her eyes at him. He simply nodded at her, saying nothing. “Who are you?” she demanded “I feel like I know you.”  
The man pulled his mask down, exposing a face with a strong jawline and ocean blue eyes, one clouded over slightly. “You don't know me, but I know you. I've known you your entire life,” he spoke, a small smile gracing his features.   
Her eyes widened and suddenly she understood. This man before her wasn't just Danish. He was the human personification of Denmark itself. Everyone had heard the legends, but she'd never truly believed that these beings were real. Not until now. She ignored the hushed whispers of Denmark’s companions, allowing him to pull her into a hug. He smelled of smoke and ash, but also of the sea and something she couldn't quite name.   
“What am I supposed to call you?” she questioned.  
“Just call me Mathias,” he suggested softly. “Please, can we stay for the night? We're exhausted.”  
She hesitated a moment before nodding. “You can stay with my family,” she murmured, slipping back into the bunker and gesturing for the others to follow.   
She ignored the protests of the bunker’s other inhabitants, making her way to the very back where her family was located.

Her family was wary of the newcomers, which is to be expected given their circumstances. She led them to the empty beds before tugging at Mathias’ sleeve, guiding him over to where her family was watching. She knelt before a woman, seemingly the healthiest out of the family of five. “Mama, this is Mathias. It’s him, the man from your stories,” she introduced him softly, easily slipping into Danish. The woman watched him for a moment before reaching out to touch his face, as if to prove that he was really there. Mathias let her, smiling softly and leaning into her touch. “Hello, Liva,” he said quietly, and the woman’s eyes widened, surprised that he knew her name. 

Once the family had been convinced that Mathias really was in fact who he said he was, the tense atmosphere was lifted, replaced by something more bittersweet. “Is there anything left of the land?” Liva inquired softly, looking as if she almost didn’t want to hear the answer. Mathias wasn’t surprised, no one wanted to be told that their entire country had been wiped off the map.   
“The land is still there, but it’s underwater. It will be habitable once the water levels go down. As for the people, I can feel that there are still survivors. I don’t know where they are, but I know they’re still alive,” Mathias answered her, sitting beside her on the bed and taking her hand in his own. “How did you end up here?” he asked, and she sighed.   
“We were on vacation, we were never even in Denmark when the flashes hit. Imagine our surprise when we suddenly went from relaxing to scrambling into the nearest bunker, hoping we would survive,” Liva replied, chuckling despite the dark mood.   
“I was actually in Denmark during the flashes, but I was one of the people evacuated. I don’t remember much of what happened, but I woke up in Italy. I made my way up to Germany and ran into Peter, the kid over there. He’s my nephew. We’re trying to get up to Malmö, Sweden. My brother, his father, is there. We think the rest of our family might be with him,” Mathias explained, and Liva nodded in understanding.   
“What about the other two? The cheerful one and the one who’s barely moving. The second one’s dying, isn’t he?”   
“They’re nations too. The first one, that’s America. His human name is Alfred. The one next to him is Canada, also known as Matthew. Yes...Matthew is dying. His body is slowly shutting down. He can’t breathe, he can’t walk, he can’t see…,” Mathias trailed off, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. “The Americans are searching for a cure, though I doubt they’ll find one fast enough. They’re looking for their parents, England and France.”  
Liva looked confused, and almost frightened. “You’re sick, too...You have what Matthew has, don’t you? I can tell. The respirator, your eye, how tired you are...You’re dying, too,” she whispered.  
Mathias nodded, closing his eyes again. “I am.”  
“But how is that possible? The legends say you’ve been alive since before the Viking ages. Surely you just can’t die?”  
“That’s the thing, we can die. We are dying. If our land is gone, we can die just like any other human can. We are only immortal if our land is still here for us to serve. With nearly the entire world uninhabitable, we’re just human.”

“Let’s not think about that then,” Ida cut in, moving over to them. “It’s the end of the world, let’s not dwell on the negatives any more than we have to. You said you have a brother? What’s he like?” she asked, looking up at him.  
Mathias smiled softly, obviously grateful for the distraction. “Yeah, his name’s Berwald. He’s together with another man named Tino. I’m not sure what they really label their relationship as, but one day Berwald started calling Tino his wife and it just sort of stuck. It’s quite a long story, but basically they ended up adopting Peter. You’d be able to recognize Berwald as soon as you saw him. He’s tall, almost a head taller than I am. He seems intimidating, especially with that stare of his. But he wouldn’t hurt a fly, not these days anyways,” he said, shifting so he was sitting behind Ida, undoing her braids and gently combing her hair out with his fingers.  
“Is there anyone else besides your brother waiting for you there?” she asked, and he shrugged.  
“I don’t know, but I hope so. Lukas and Emil might be there. If not, they’re probably still in Oslo. They’re brothers, they stick together through everything. Emil is like a son to me. I raised him for hundreds of years. Lukas...I’m in love with Lukas. I guess I always have been. We were married at one point, but things happened and we had to do what our leaders told us. I spoke to him, right before the flashes. We promised we’d find each other after all of this is over. Now...I’m not so sure...,” he trailed off, working Ida’s hair into a simple french braid that hung over her shoulder.  
“I’m sure you’ll find them,” Ida tried to reassure him, her eyes heavy with exhaustion.   
“I hope so,” Mathias murmured, helping her lie down. He knelt beside the bed, holding her hand and singing lullabies to her softly in Danish until he fell asleep as well, still holding onto her. 

The next morning was quiet. Ida was one of the first ones awake, and sat still until Peter woke Mathias. It took nearly ten minutes for Mathias to gather the strength to lift himself out of bed, but eventually he managed. He went to speak with Alfred, and the two had a long hushed conversation, glancing occasionally at the Danish family.

Eventually Mathias walked back over to Ida, sitting beside her. “Peter and I need to continue to Sweden, but we can’t just leave you here. Stay with Alfred and Matthew. They’ll lead you to Ivan, someone we know. He’ll take you back to the colonies. They’ve opened the borders in North America to start rebuilding. You and your family will be safe there,” he murmured.  
“Will you be okay?” Ida asked, giving him a concerned look.  
Mathias smiled sadly, kissing her forehead. “I don’t think so. I have a feeling this is the last you’ll see of me. Say hello to my family if you see them, yeah?”  
Ida nodded silently in response, though her eyes filled with tears. “I will,” she promised.   
“Good” Mathias pulled her into a tight hug before standing up. The others started moving as well and it was soon clear that it was time to leave.


End file.
